Chasing the Minute Hand: Transformations of Medieval Uses of and Thought on Time

Time, as we say, is money, and how Western ideas of time came to be organized has been a subject of inquiry ever since intellectuals first began to inquire into the roots of industrialization. In this pursuit, a primary assumption in work of Jacques Le Goff, Gerhard Dorhn-Van Rossum, and other historians has been that the revolution of the minute-hand around the clock-face was a necessary antecedent to the revolution in production. But did innovation affect mentality, or did the two exist in a sort of dynamic counterpoint? What happens when the voices of other sources, such as astronomical texts, scholastic thought, fencing treatises, and musical notation, enter the chorus? Do the notions of time evident in these sources harmonize with the existing historiography, or add notes of dissonance? To this end, we solicit papers dealing with aspects and implications of timekeeping and abstract thought on time in sources whose voices may not have been previously heard on this subject. Special consideration will be given to papers that tie together the social and intellectual aspects of this field.

Abstracts may be e-mailed to Ken Mondschein, mondschein@fordham.edu. Acceptance entails the obligation to present.

The Congress’ Web site may be found at
http://www.wmich.edu/medieval/congress/.